I'll Follow You into the Dark
by jessielions89
Summary: Haley faces tragedy, and Brooke helps her through it. Along the way she realizes that her feelings for the tutor girl are more than friendly. Baley pairing. Takes place during season 3 before Haley and Nathan reconcile. Deals with sexual assault. Please Review!
1. Chapter 1

It was two o' clock in the morning, but Brooke Davis was still awake- sitting on the couch, staring at the front door, waiting for Haley. She told herself that Haley was fine. She and Nathan had in all likelihood gotten back together and were out somewhere hooking up to seal the deal. She had no reason to be so worried. She had no reason to wait up all night for this girl who she wouldn't have given the time of day a few months ago.

But something felt off about that stormy night, and she was quite sure she wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if she tried.

It was pouring outside, and the wind was howling so loudly she had to drown it out with one of Haley's crappy Enya CDs. Even the color of the sky was off, an eerie kind of greenish grey color.

Eventually the storm calmed, and Brooke laid her head down on a pillow. She closed her eyes and tried to think peaceful thoughts: the coming up Victoria's Secret blowout sale, cute boys, low fat chocolate frozen yogurt with rainbow sprinkles. Nothing worked. Then she started thinking about Haley.

She knew if Haley were there she'd probably talk about how much she loved thunder storms. She'd tell the same story for the umpteenth time about how her mother used to take her and her sisters for rides in their van so they could "chase down the storm," but Brooke wouldn't care because Haley's face would light up as she recalled the details. Haley was always her most beautiful when she was smiling.

That was when she got the phone call. The phone call that would change her life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

"Brooke?" Haley asked in a small, shaky voice. Brooke could just barely recognize that it was her.

"Yeah, it's me. What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I need a… ride home."

"Okay" she said suspiciously. "Where are you?"

"The hospital."

"The hospital" Brooke gasped. "Haley, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Then what are you doing in the hospital?"

"I don't want to talk about, Brooke. Could you please just come get me."

"Okay" Brooke sighed. "Of course, I'll be right there."

"Could you bring some clean clothes with you?"

"Yeah, sure" Brooke said, trying not to think about why Haley would need that.

She put the phone down on the hook, and ran across the apartment to grab her coat. Her adrenaline had been running so high since she heard the word "hospital" that she hadn't even really been able to process the situation. "Damn it!" she finally yelled, kicking a laundry basket that had been sitting by the couch. She watched all of Haley clean, folded laundry fly through the year with an odd detachment. "What the hell happened to you Haley?" she whispered. "What the hell happened?"

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Brooke hated hospitals. They smelled like death and reminded her of the lamest summer of her life that she spent candy striping. Only now she'd do anything to be back in that point of time, when her biggest problem was boredom and not waiting to find out what horror had befallen her Tutor girl.

"May I help you?" the hospital receptionist deadpanned.

"I'm here to see a patient. Haley James. Or, Haley James Scott. I'm not sure what name she used."

"Relationship to the patient?"

"She's my best friend" Brooke said, a little surprised as the words fell out of her mouth. Peyton had always been her best friend.

"Room 212" the nurse said.

"Thank you" Brooke called over her shoulder as she sprinted to the elevator.

She hoped she'd have it to herself, but it was filled with about six other people, including a screaming baby. She felt so claustrophobic like she couldn't breathe. She knew she had to pull it together, and be strong for Haley so she closed her eyes and counted to ten, leaning her face into the sweater she brought that smelled like her.

The elevator dinged as the doors parted and Brooke took a deep breath. She repeated a quote from her favorite actress, Elizabeth Taylor, as a mantra as she journeyed down the hall. "Now is the time for guts and gile."

And yet somehow she wasn't prepared for the scene that met her eyes when she found Haley's room.

"Oh God" she whispered.

Haley was battered and bruised, laying on an exam table curled in a ball, and sobbing quietly.

"I'm right here" she said, setting down the clothes on a chair, and running to the table. "It's okay now."

"Brooke" she sobbed, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "It was so awful. I tried to stop him-"

"Who? Who did you try to stop?"

Haley took a moment to quiet her sobs and took a deep breath. "The man who raped me."

**Please Review! **


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